Communication network performance can be improved through the use of in-network data caches. Caches store certain data content which is expected to be requested by client devices. When data is to be provided to a client device, the data can be transmitted from a nearby cache instead of a relatively remote originating server. Data caching may be deployed as a solution to reduce traffic volume as well as packet transmission delay in networks.
The optimal deployment of caches in a network has been recognized as a difficult problem. The widely used criterion for optimizing cache placement is average packet delay. In P. Krishnan et al., “The Cache Location Problem,” IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, Vol. 8, No. 5, October 2000, it is recognized that the general problem of optimizing the location of k caches in the network for criteria such as minimum average delay is intractable, although optimal solutions can be found for some special cases. However, it would be beneficial to develop more effective approaches to the problem of cache deployment.
Therefore there is a need for a method and apparatus for providing network caches that obviates or mitigates one or more limitations of the prior art.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.